RTT is looking for volunteers to assist in lessons at their Windham farm.
Positions include horse leading or side walking next to our riders
during their therapeutic lessons. (Riding to the Top has barns in Windham and New Gloucester, at Pineland Equestrian Center.)
RTT is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing therapeutic horseback riding to children and adults with physical, emotional and/or learning disabilities
If interested in volunteering, fill out and send in a volunteer registration form from our web site,
www.ridingtothetop.org or contact Sayre English, Volunteer Coordinator, for more information.
"Training sessions are scheduled monthly for new volunteers where we hold a mock lesson with our horses and it lasts about two hours," says English.
Once trained, volunteers are scheduled in lessons lasting from 1/2 to 1 hour, Monday through Saturday.
RTT believes that experiencing horses and horseback riding is a powerful tool for improving the lives of people with disabilities and that helping others builds stronger communities.
"Volunteers are the backbone of our organization and we couldn't do what we do without them!" adds English.
Duke is Horse of the Year!
Duke is a nine-year old Registered American Quarter Horse sorrel gelding who came to RTT in March of 2007. He was selected by the NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, Inc.) Regional Awards Committee as an outstanding equine representative.
He earned 2008 NARHA Horse for the Year in Region 1! Yes, folks, that region includes which covers Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Duke was honored at the NARHA Awards Banquet on November 1 in Hartford CT and as a regional winner, Duke is a finalist for the national 2008 Horse of the Year Award.
As one of Dukes riders wrote:
"There is a presence to Duke, an all knowing spirit that has guided me through my fears in a way no human could.
"There is a presence to Duke, an all-knowing spirit that has guided me through my fears in a way no human could," says one rider. I know when I arrive each week twisted with my anxieties and old demons that Duke will greet me with his gentle assured nature, those endless deep brown eyes that seem to hold the wisdom of eternity; and that his friendship will guide me to not only meet my fears but conquer them."